Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
  • B62K—CYCLES; CYCLE FRAMES; CYCLE STEERING DEVICES; RIDER-OPERATED TERMINAL CONTROLS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR CYCLES; CYCLE AXLE SUSPENSIONS; CYCLE SIDE-CARS, FORECARS, OR THE LIKE
  • B62K23/00—Rider-operated controls specially adapted for cycles, i.e. means for initiating control operations, e.g. levers, grips
  • B62K23/02—Rider-operated controls specially adapted for cycles, i.e. means for initiating control operations, e.g. levers, grips hand actuated
  • B62K23/06—Levers
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
  • B62L—BRAKES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR CYCLES
  • B62L3/00—Brake-actuating mechanisms; Arrangements thereof
  • B62L3/02—Brake-actuating mechanisms; Arrangements thereof for control by a hand lever
  • B62L3/023—Brake-actuating mechanisms; Arrangements thereof for control by a hand lever acting on fluid pressure systems
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T74/00—Machine element or mechanism
  • Y10T74/18—Mechanical movements
  • Y10T74/18056—Rotary to or from reciprocating or oscillating
  • Y10T74/18176—Crank, pitman, lever, and slide
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T74/00—Machine element or mechanism
  • Y10T74/20—Control lever and linkage systems
  • Y10T74/20396—Hand operated
  • Y10T74/20402—Flexible transmitter [e.g., Bowden cable]
  • Y10T74/2042—Flexible transmitter [e.g., Bowden cable] and hand operator
  • Y10T74/20438—Single rotatable lever [e.g., for bicycle brake or derailleur]

Definitions

• the present invention relates to control lever devices for vehicles, particularly to a collapsible lever device for motorcycles.
• the brake and clutch are manually actuated by means of a lever device that is mounted on the handlebar of the motorcycle, a hydraulic tube extending therefrom to the system to be controlled, such as a hydraulically actuated brake or a clutch.
• the lever of the lever device is usually arranged on the grip of the handlebar and the motorcyclist, in order to actuate the lever, grips the handlebar together with the lever and clenches the hand such as to rotate the lever towards the grip.
• the movement of the lever produces a thrust force acting on the hydraulic piston, the stroke or position thereof defining the amount of fluid pressure inside said hydraulic pipe for controlling the brake or clutch.
• a broken lever makes a clutch or a manual brake unserviceable, and is accordingly a serious damage that prevents the motorcyclist from continuing a ride or a race.
• a lever device provided with a support structure, a transmission portion and a lever being pivotally connected thereto.
• the transmission portion is always in contact with the hydraulic piston and can be rotated between two extreme angular positions defining an angular actuation stroke therebetween.
• the first extreme angular position is defined by the abutment of a stop surface of the transmission portion against a corresponding stop surface of the support structure and corresponds to a rest position both for the hydraulic piston and the lever.
• the second extreme angular position of the transmission portion corresponds to a more or less forward actuation position of the hydraulic piston, based on the force being applied on the lever and transmitted to the transmission portion therefrom.
• the lever is pivotally connected to the transmission portion or, alternatively, the lever and transmission portion are connected to each other and the support structure by means of an individual pin allowing them to rotate relative to each other.
• the object of the present invention is therefore to improve the control lever device of the prior art such as to further diminish possible damages to the transmission portion and the hydraulic piston due to the impacts against the lever.
• control lever device for vehicles comprising:
• - a support structure with means for connecting the device to a handlebar; a cylinder-piston unit being connected to the support structure; _ a lever being pivotally connected to the support structure along an angular actuation stroke extending from an angular rest position of the lever in a first direction of rotation and along an angular collapse stroke extending from said angular rest position in a second direction of rotation, opposite the first direction;
• Figure 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the device according to the invention.
• Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views of several details of the device from figure 2;
• FIGS 5, 6 and 7 illustrate the control lever device in three operating positions
• a control lever device is generally designated with 1.
• the device 1 comprises a support structure 2 with means for connecting the device 1 to a handlebar, for example one or more tightening portions 3 provided with suitable holes 4 that are optionally threaded to house clamping screws.
• a cylinder-piston group for example in the form of a cylinder-piston unit that is manufactured separate from the support structure and subsequently connected thereto, or, as shown in the figures, a cylindrical housing 5 being directly made in the support structure 2 that slidingly houses a piston 6.
• a lever 7 is pivotally connected to the support structure 2 along an angular actuation stroke A extending from an angular rest position R of lever 7 in a first direction of rotation and along an angular collapse stroke C extending from said angular rest portion R in a second direction of rotation opposite the first direction of rotation.
• a transmission portion 8 is associated with the device 1 such as to transmit the movement of lever 7 along the angular actuation stroke A to the cylinder- piston unit, particularly to piston 6.
• the transmission portion 8 is arranged relative to lever 7 such that, when the lever 7 is in the angular collapse stroke C, it is separated from the transmission portion 8 meaning that a force applied on lever 7 cannot be transmitted therefrom by direct contact to the transmission portion 8 or, in other words, a force applied on the lever is directly transmitted and, preferably exclusively, to the support structure 2, thus bypassing the transmission portion 8.
• the lever 7 When the lever 7 is in the angular actuation stroke A, it abuts against the transmission portion 8 to allow the transmission of the movement of lever 7 to the cylinder-piston unit, particularly to piston 6, in order to actuate either the brake or clutch.
• the transmission portion 8 is provided as an elongated push rod having a preferably circular cross-sectional shape.
• the push rod has a first end 9 that is held into permanent contact to a seat 2 of piston 6 and a second end 10 that is free and suitable to abut against a suitable seat 11 of the lever 7, when the latter is in the angular actuation stroke A.
• connection of the transmission portion 8 to the support structure 2 is provided in a position away from the position of a pin 26 providing the pivotal connection of lever 7 to the support structure 2. Due to the distance between the pin 26 and the transmission portion 8, any stroke or impact on the lever 7 is counteracted only by the support structure 2 (which is usually very solid) without damaging the transmission portion 8.
• the transmission portion 8 comprises, in an intermediate area between the first end 9 and the second end 10, a connecting portion 13 for the connection of the transmission portion 8 to a gasket 14 being provided for protecting the cylinder-piston unit from the external environment.
• the gasket 14 has the shape of a cup with a smooth or bellows side wall 15.
• the circumferential edge 16 of the open side of gasket 14 is inserted in a suitable seat 17 being formed all around an opening 18 through which the transmission portion 8 extends from the outside into the seat 12 of piston 6.
• the connecting portion 13 of the transmission portion 8 is a circumferential groove formed by two parallel circumferential flanges 19, suitable to house a preferably circular edge 20 of an opening formed in a bottom wall 21 of the gasket 14 opposite the open side thereof.
• the gasket 14 is made of an elastomeric or elastic material and is formed and positioned such as to hold the transmission portion 8, i.e. the push rod, elastically in a preset position at least when lever 7 is in the angular collapse stroke.
• adjusting means suitable to adjust the relative position of the seat 11 and the lever 7, such as to be able of adjusting the angular rest position of the lever 7 according to the user's requirements.
• the adjusting means comprise an adjusting screw 22 that is screwed in a suitable threaded hole of the lever 7, the seat 11 being formed at an end of the adjusting screw 22 facing the transmission portion 8.
• the seat 11 is preferably funnel-shaped such as to facilitate the proper positioning and mutual engagement of the seat 11 of lever 7 with the second end 10 of the transmission portion 8, when the lever 7 shifts from the angular collapse stroke C to the rest position R.
• a helical torsion spring 23 is arranged in an annular seat 24 obtained in the lever 7 about a hole 25 to house the pin 26.
• a first end 23a of the helical spring 23 rests against a wall of a recess 23b of the annular seat 24 of lever 7 and a second end 23c of helical spring 23 rests against a suitable seat 23d of the support structure 2.
• the helical spring 23 pushes the lever 7 elastically in the direction of the angular actuation stroke A and a second spring (not shown in the figures) pushes the piston 6 in an end-of-stroke position thereof corresponding to the rest position of lever 7, thereby- counteracting the thrust of the helical spring 23.
• the force produced by the second spring is greater than the force of the first spring, in order to ensure that, when the lever 7 has not been actuated, the piston 6 remains in its end-of-stroke position and the lever 7 remains in its rest position R.
• the device according to the invention has a number of advantages.
• the device has a simple structure with a few pieces, the transmission portion does not require complex mechanical processing and strict size tolerances.
• a lever being pivotally connected to the support structure along an angular actuation stroke extending from an angular rest position of the lever in a first direction of rotation and along an angular collapse stroke extending from said angular rest position in a second direction of rotation, opposite the first direction;
• a transmission portion being associated with the lever device such as to transmit the movement of the lever along the angular actuation stroke to the cylinder-piston unit, [0041] wherein the transmission portion is arranged relative to the piston-cylinder unit such that, when the lever is in the angular collapse stroke, the transmission portion is separated from the cylinder- piston unit, such that a force acting on the lever cannot be transmitted to the cylinder-piston unit therefrom.
• the protection of the cylinder-piston unit in case of accident takes place by separating the transmission portion from the piston. It is thereby obtained that the transmission portion, since it does not rest against the piston, cannot counteract any force applied on the lever. Consequently, this force is mainly transmitted to the support structure and not the transmission portion. Furthermore, the piston is effectively separated from the transmission portion and the lever, and accordingly, from any violent movement of the same.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
• Steering Devices For Bicycles And Motorcycles (AREA)
• Mechanical Control Devices (AREA)
• Switches With Compound Operations (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=34960187

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Cited By (3)

Families Citing this family (9)

Citations (4)

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• 2004
  • 2004-12-30 US US11/722,819 patent/US8276477B2/en active Active
  • 2004-12-30 WO PCT/IT2004/000740 patent/WO2006070417A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2004-12-30 EP EP04806903.3A patent/EP1831068B2/de active Active
  • 2004-12-30 DE DE602004029830T patent/DE602004029830D1/de active Active
  • 2004-12-30 AT AT04806903T patent/ATE486000T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation

Patent Citations (4)

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